Messi Becomes First Player Ever to Score in Seven Straight World Cup Matches
Lionel Messi didn't even start the match. He didn't need to.
With Argentina already through to the Round of 32 as Group J winners and the Jordan fixture carrying little stakes, manager Lionel Scaloni gave his 39-year-old captain a rest on the bench — a sensible call considering the game fell just three days after Messi's birthday. Scaloni brought him on in the 60th minute anyway, and it took barely twenty more for the moment to arrive: a free kick from the edge of the box, curled around the wall and into the corner, the kind of finish that's defined his entire career.
The goal capped a 3-1 win and, on the surface, looked like a routine moment in a dead-rubber match. It was anything but.
The streak's origin point makes it even more remarkable. It traces back to Argentina's Round of 16 win over Australia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the match immediately following the only game of that tournament in which Messi failed to score — a 2-0 win over Poland in the group finale. From that Australia match onward, Messi found the net in every single one of Argentina's knockout matches en route to lifting the trophy, then picked up exactly where he left off at this tournament.
The Streak
| Match | Tournament | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| vs Australia (R16) | 2022 WC | 1 |
| vs Netherlands (QF) | 2022 WC | 2 |
| vs Croatia (SF) | 2022 WC | 2 |
| vs France (Final) | 2022 WC | 2 |
| vs Algeria (GS) | 2026 WC | 3 |
| vs Austria (GS) | 2026 WC | 2 |
| vs Jordan (GS) | 2026 WC | 1 |
The goal also extended his own all-time World Cup scoring record to 19 career goals. Messi passed Miroslav Klose's long-standing mark of 16 earlier this tournament with his brace against Austria, and has simply kept adding to it since. He currently leads all scorers at this World Cup with 6 goals, two clear of the chasing pack of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Erling Haaland, and Vinícius Júnior — all tied on 4.
By the Numbers
Argentina finish the group stage with a perfect 9-point record, outscoring opponents 8-1 across three matches — one of only three teams alongside Mexico and France to win every group game. Messi has now scored in all six of his World Cup starts at this tournament when accounting for the two in 2022. His free kick against Jordan was his 92nd career goal from set pieces across club and international football.
What's Next
Argentina's reward for topping Group J is a Round of 32 meeting with Cape Verde on July 3 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens — a fixture pairing the tournament's most decorated team against its smallest-population debutant nation, and a fitting stage for Messi to chase an eighth straight match with a goal.